Sunday, November 18, 2007

NAME THAT CREATURE

Unique among the daikaiju - the greatest of the fictional Japanese monsters, this creature is a formidable opponent in combat, having bested opponents as diverse as Gojira (Godzilla); Ghidora (Ghidra), he of the Three Heads; and the space monster Gigan. At the same time, she can roast a turkey; make a Christmas wreath out of holly, pine cones, and the disemboweled bodies of her victims; and bake a mince pie out of her own made-from-scratch mincemeat.

Her insectile lifecycle, in which the next generation of larvae hatch from the egg coincident with the death of the adult, is reminiscent of that of the mythical Phoenix, a bird that is continually reborn from its ashes, or that of a prisoner who has paid her debt to Society and who is welcomed back to the lofty heights of corporate achievement.